Writing as Practice

Image: AI generated image of an old man meditating. Note the foot with toes on both ends!

I have long believed, and often shared, that writing is a practice, not unlike meditation. Writing sustained over any period of time requires the writer to find--again and again--the same state of mind. In order for the work to have meaningful continuity, I need to be able to reenter the frame of consciousness I was in when I was last working on the manuscript. For me, that means having a set time that I write every day and showing up to do the work whether I want to or not. Denise thinks I'm obsessive about my writing schedule, like complaining about never sleeping in, but then getting up the next morning anyway. By thinking about it as a practice, rather than work, I relieve any pressure I might feel about quantity of output (I'm a slow writer) or quality of output. That all gets addressed when I am revising, reorganizing, and cutting my heart out turning a story into a finished manuscript.

For new writers, or folks who have been thinking about a book for years, I have one piece of advice: don't talk about it. Every time you tell someone your plot or describe your characters, you are releasing the creative urge you need to write. Instead, find a time you can devote to write your ideas down. Even thirty minutes a day gets you somewhere.

I am not saying that you never share. Share what you have written with trusted friends (folks who will be honest but who want to see you succeed) but make them read it. And before you give an excerpt to anyone, make sure you know what you are asking them to do. Be explicit. If you want someone to review spelling and grammar, tell them that. If you don't, be sure to tell that that. If you want to know if the characters come across as real and as individuals, ask. If you want to know if the story line intrigues, ask. Do not just give someone pages to read for 'feedback.' They will say nice things, and you won't learn what you need to learn. Very few writers can sit down and produce highly polished, meaningful work right off the bat, no matter how long they have been writing. I need to hear someone say 'I hate your main character.' They'll be wrong, but I need to hear it.

Feedback stings. There is no other way to put it. On target, off target, it doesn't matter. Your ego (we all have one) will immediately spin up evidence that this trusted person is clearly jealous of your writing and wants to destroy you, and yes you can use the word ain't. Learn to sit with feedback, consider it, and act on it. That does not mean you agree with every comment or make every suggested change. It means you set your feelings aside and invest time in understanding what has been shared because you want the best manuscript possible.

I have a confession to make. I have not been practicing. Other than a couple of feeble attempts at blog posts, I have not written a word since early July. I always thought that if I got really sick, I would spend all day with my laptop and make great strides on the current project I was working on. That did not happen. Denise would tell you that I could not string three words together to form a coherent sentence like 'I want dinner.' All I know is I had no connection to the project. Now I'm feeling some internal pressure to get back to work, but I'm dealing with some fear as well. What if I don't find that state of being that brings me back to the story I was telling? What if I read what I've written and hate it? The good news is that these are regular, daily writing fears I deal with all the time, so I'm hopeful that I will be able to sit down soon and resurrect the project.

On the political front, I'm a little out of touch there as well. I'm still dumbfounded by the Trump-Hegseth love for all things Confederate. They say they honor our history, not erase it. I don't buy that. Where is the portrait of Benedict Arnold then? He was a traitor they don't seem to celebrate. If you want to honor our history, you note that after centuries of slavery, the Confederacy committed treason against the United States and then cravenly surrendered unconditionally, but not until after 700,000 Americans were killed. You don't bring back statues and portraits that were removed by an act of Congress.

Let them put up their icons to white supremacy. They will all come down again, and this time it all needs to be destroyed, so no other fascist regime can pull things out of warehouses just to be cruel.

We cannot abide cruelty.